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Hospital [7] [8] [9] Joe Morton as Miles Bennett Dyson : Director of special
projects at Cyberdyne Systems Corporation [10] [11] The film's cast also
includes Jenette Goldstein and Xander Berkeley as John's foster parents
Janelle and Todd Voight, [12] Cástulo Guerra as Sarah's friend Enrique
Salceda, S. Epatha Merkerson and DeVaughn Nixon as Dyson's wife Tarissa and
son Danny, [13] [14] and Danny Cooksey as John's friend Tim. [15] Hamilton's
twin sister Leslie Hamilton Gearren appears as the T-1000 impersonating Sarah
when Hamilton is also on-screen. Twins Don and Dan Stanton portray a guard at
Pescadero State Hospital and the T-1000 imitating him. [4] [13] [16] Other
cast members includes Ken Gibbel as an abusive orderly, [17] Robert Winley,
Ron Young , Charles Robert Brown, and Pete Schrum as men who confront the
T-800 in a biker bar , Abdul Salaam El Razzac as Gibbons, a Cyberdyne guard,
and Dean Norris as the SWAT team leader. [13] [14] Michael Edwards portrays
the John Connor of 2029 and Hamilton's infant son Dalton Abbott portrays John
in a dream sequence. [5] [13] [18] Co-writer William Wisher cameos as a man
photographing the T-800 in the mall, [19] and Michael Biehn reprises his role
as resistance soldier Kyle Reese in scenes that were removed from the
theatrical release. [20] Production [ edit ] Development [ edit ] Director
James Cameron in 2016 The Terminator had been a surprise hit, earning $78.4
million against its $6.4 million budget, confirming Schwarzenegger's status as
a lead actor and establishing James Cameron as a mainstream director. [4]
Schwarzenegger expressed interest in a sequel, saying "I always felt we should
continue the story ... I told [Cameron] that right after we finished the first
film". [21] Cameron said Schwarzenegger had always been more enthusiastic
about a sequel than he was, because Cameron considered the original a complete
story. [22] [23] Discussions to make a sequel stalled until 1989, in part
owing to Cameron's work on other films such as Aliens (1986) and The Abyss
(1989), but also because of a dispute with rights holder Hemdale Film
Corporation . [4] [19] [24] Hemdale co-founder John Daly had attempted to
alter the ending of The Terminator against Cameron's wishes, nearly resulting
in a physical confrontation. A sequel could not be made without Hemdale's
approval as Cameron had surrendered 50% of his rights to the company to get
The Terminator made. Cameron had also sold half of the remaining stake to his
ex-wife Gale Anne Hurd , producer and co-writer on the first film, for $1
following their 1989 divorce. [c] By 1990, Hemdale was being sued by Cameron,
Schwarzenegger, Hurd, and special-effects artist Stan Winston for unpaid
profits from The Terminator . [24] Schwarzenegger, aware Hemdale was
experiencing financial difficulties, convinced Carolco Pictures to purchase
the film rights to The Terminator , having worked with the independent film
studio on the big-budget science fiction film Total Recall (1990). [4] [25]
[26] Owner Mario Kassar described the rights acquisition as the most difficult
deal Carolco ever conducted. He accepted a $10 million offer for Hemdale's
share, considering it a sum fabricated to ward him off, and paid Hurd $5
million for her share. Prior to development, the total cost of the acquisition
rose to $17 million after factoring in incidental costs. [4] [26] [27] Kassar
told Cameron that in order to recoup his investment, the film would proceed
with or without him, and offered Cameron $6 million to be involved and write
the script. [4] The film would become a collaboration between several
production studios: Carolco, Le Studio Canal+ , Cameron's Lightstorm
Entertainment , and Hurd's Pacific Western Productions . [d] The studio also
had an existing U.S. distribution deal with TriStar Pictures , [26] [32] which
stipulated that the film be ready for release by May 27, 1991, Memorial Day .
[33] Writing [ edit ] With a scheduled release date, Cameron had six to seven
weeks to write the sequel. He approached his frequent collaborator and The
Terminator co-writer William Wisher in March 1990. [4] [19] [33] They spent
two weeks developing a film treatment based on Cameron's vision to form a
relationship between John Connor and the T-800, a concept Wisher believed was
a joke. [22] [33] Their treatment diverged from the "science fiction slasher "
theme of the original, focusing on the unconventional family bond formed
between Sarah, John, and the T-800. Cameron said this relationship is "the
heart of the movie", comparing it to the Tin Man receiving a heart in The
Wizard of Oz (1939). [4] Cameron's concept featured Skynet and the resistance
each sending a T-800—both played by Schwarzenegger—into the past, one to kill
John and the other to protect him. Wisher believed a fight between two
identical Terminators would be boring. [4] [34] The pair briefly considered a
larger "Super-Terminator", but found it uninteresting and adopted an early
idea Cameron had for The Terminator —a liquid-metal Terminator resembling an
average-sized human in contrast to Schwarzenegger's large frame. [34] The
first half of their concept concluded with the destruction of Skynet's T-800,
forcing it to use the T-1000, its ultimate weapon. [4] Although he once
considered removing the T-1000 altogether, Cameron solidified it as the only
antagonist. Cameron and Wisher had the T-1000 take on the appearance of a
police officer, allowing it to operate with less suspicion. [4] [35] Wisher
found it challenging to depict the T-800 as "good" without making it non-
threatening at the same time. [35] The pair decided to give it the ability to
learn and develop emotions, becoming more human over time. [35] They kept the
T-800's dialogue brief, relying on the audience to infer a lot of meaning
through "small bites". [4] Its catchphrase, " Hasta la vista, baby ", was
something Wisher and Cameron said after their telephone calls. [4] [36] Wisher
developed the first half of the treatment at Cameron's home over the course of
four weeks, while Cameron worked on the latter half. [33] [34] [37] Many pages
were removed, including a "convoluted" subplot about Dyson, and a massacre of
a camp of survivalists helping Sarah. Cameron, who did not consider the budget
while writing, had to cut some elaborate scenes, including a nine-minute
opening that showed a time travel machine being used in 2029. [e] Wisher and
Cameron also frequently conferred with special-effects studio Industrial Light
& Magic (ILM) to determine which ideas were achievable. [33] Cameron and
Wisher analyzed the first film to help envision each character's development
and evolution. Cameron believed Sarah's knowledge of the future would isolate
her, forcing her to associate with survivalists and become a self-sufficient
commando. [4] She was written to have become an emotionally cold and distant
character comparable to a Terminator, especially when deciding to go after
Dyson. [4] Instead of beginning the story with Sarah, John is placed with a
foster family to increase tension. [35] [42] John's character was inspired by
the 1985 Sting song " Russians ", with Cameron recalling, "I remember sitting
there once, high on E ... I was struck by [the lyrics] 'I hope the Russians
love their children too'. And I thought ... The idea of a nuclear war is just
so antithetical to life itself'. That's where [John] came from". [4] They
spent three days refining the script before flying to Cannes , where
Terminator 2 was announced in early May 1990. [4] [33] [43] Schwarzenegger